The enemy of my enemy is my friend
by Sasha Derksen
Summary: In which Sofiya Irinovskaya and Integra Hellsing get together to discuss a mutual enemy. They might just discover that they get along far better than they expected.


" Captain, Sir Integra Hellsing has arrived." Menshov entered his boss's office. This statement caused a smile to appear on the blonde's face.

"Lovely. Offer her and her companions some tea and tell them they're welcome to come in anytime." She explained. Menshov nodded and exited the cabinet. Sofiya sighed and tried to get as comfortable as she could before her British counterpart arrived. She had a fresh pack of Cuban cigars ready, as she learned that the Englishwoman had taken a liking to them.

In the midst of her thinking, the door opened to reveal a tall blonde woman in her late twenties. Her butler held the door open for her, and as soon as she entered, e stepped out, leaving the two of them alone.

"It's nice to finally meet you in. Please take a seat." Sofiya gestured to the leather chair across from her. Integra, although she kept her resting bitch face in place, sat down.

"Save the formalities for business, Sofiya, although I do appreciate these arrangements. This is simply routine." She crossed her legs in the chair.

"Oh, but Hotel Moscow must show hospitality to all our visitors. So, whether you like it or not, you're going to get this treatment every time you visit." Although from the side it appeared as of the two were simply businesswomen and heads of their organizations, but in reality, Sofiya Irinovskaya and Integra Hellsing were very good friends. At least, that's what they considered themselves to be. But in this situation, things weren't so friendly.

"I suppose that can't be helped. Let's let that go and focus on the important topics. I wouldn't come to Thailand if it wasn't important." Integra leaned back in her chair and faced the other.

"I understand. Let's begin." Sofiya nodded in agreement, "So I've heard about this self-titled mafia organization. It's roots are in England, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, they started their organization in the outskirts of London, but now they operate internationally." Integra replied, her tone sounded only the slightest bit annoyed and distressed.

"And is that why you need Hotel Moscow to assist you in termination of them?" The Russian rested her head in her palm with a sly smirk. Usually, bosses of high rank organizations such as Hotel Moscow and Helling didn't ask for each other's help, especially not so openly. This was a special occasion, and Sofiya was going to enjoy it to its fullest.

"That's not the only reason. Hellsing has dealt with international crimes before, and we've terminated them perfectly. The only trouble with this group is that they're very widespread, and most of the members are regular people. At least, they're disguised as such. In reality, they're a pathetic parody of vampires. They can be of any race, gender, and nationality, which makes it near impossible to locate them. But when they attack, they do so in groups, so if common policemen try to oppose them, there's a low chance that they will be victorious." Integra explained, and her tone and demeanor became more and more hopeless with every sentence. While they had three good-working vampires in their organization, it simply wasn't possible to get rid of self-titled mafia on their own. The lawmakers have tried taking the matters into their own hands, but that only made things worse as more and more policemen were killed on the job. They couldn't do this on their own, and they understood that perfectly.

The explanation finally erased all expression of amusement off Sofiya's face. She remembered what happened the last time they dealt with someone they didn't know was an enemy: one of her comrades ended up getting killed, and that wasn't something she wanted to go through again. Not to mention that Hellsing wasn't any worse than Hotel Moscow. Both organizations were very efficient in dealing with their enemies, meaning that if Hellsing, an organization with bloody vampires couldn't take care of this, what chance did her men have?

"I see. As much as I hate to say this, but this will be a difficult task. Very difficult at that. If you're willing to cooperate with Hotel Moscow and, if needed, other organizations of this city, then we can move on to the next step of ridding the world of these newcomers." She informed.

Integra's eye twitched as she remembered her last encounter with the mafia of Roanapur. To make a long story short, it was an experience far from comfortable, "I am always willing to cooperate if you and your partners are."

"I know I am, but I'll have to arrange a discussion with all of the mafia bosses to bring that topic up. It's so much work, you know?" Sofiya finally found a weak spot in the other's cold exterior. Of course, Integra was very competent, but compared to the Russian, she still had many, many things to learn.

"Don't make this any more difficult than it is, Sofiya." The Englishwoman glared at her counterpart, "You know damn well that I would've never come into this bastardous city, and ask, out of all people, you, for help if it wasn't my last resort." She sighed and shook her head, covering her eyes with her right hand, "I just want to get this over with and leave."

What happened next surprised Integra, to say the least. Because she wasn't looking, she couldn't see that Sofiya stood from her leather chair to pick up a cigar from the nearby box with her left hand, and place her right hand on the other's shoulder. Integra uncovered her only to see a slyly smiling Sofiya mere centimeters across from her face.

"I'll help you with this, дорогая. But I want you to understand that my help is never free. After we finish this operation, I'll state the price. It's not something you need to worry about for now."

Something in the Russian's tone of voice was very off, and much different from her usual. As much as this unnerved Integra, she couldn't help but feel almost comfortable being in this situation. She only noticed the blush on her cheeks when she pushed Sofiya back.

"I already said that I agree to your conditions." She stated, her eyes staring tensely at the woman before her.

"Just making sure." Sofiya finally lifted the Cohiba in the Englishwoman's view range, "Care for a cigar?"

Upon briefly examining it, Integra noticed that it was the same brand that she always smoked herself.

"You have good taste." She used her personal lighter to ignite it, while Sofiya lit up her own cigar from the box. They took this time to relax and inhale the smoke.

"I have a suggestion. Since you're staying in Roanapur for a week, perhaps I could introduce you to some of the city's key places, as well as some good people. It never hurts to have more ties, right?" Sofiya shook some of the ash off her cigar and decided to lighten the mood. Her counterpart listened as she took a deep inhale.

"I suppose that wouldn't do us any harm. I hope so, at least. Roanapur is a city of surprises." Integra half-smiled at her own joke, while the other chuckled half-heartedly.

"You're not wrong there."

The two finished their cigars in silence. After that, the two stood from their seats and began to walk towards the door in unison.

"I have a strong feeling that I might end up in some mafia house for a good ransom at the end of the day." Integra sighed, herself not sure if she was serious or not. There was a decent possibility of that happening, "Maybe I should have brought Alucard with us."

"No need. I'm all you need to survive in this city." Sofiya scoffed, mildly offended that Integra though she couldn't handle herself in the city for as long as she had been there.

"Of course, as usual, I get the privilege of having my ass saved by the biggest Russian mafia boss. Tell me, Sofiya, do you not get tired of this?" The Englishwoman bitterly asked.

"How could I get tired of this? You're fun to save." She sneered, and placed her hand on the massive door handle, but stopped and turned to look at Integra with a reminding look, "And remember, in this city, they call me Balalaika."


End file.
